Silhouette of a Sparrow: YA Lesbian Historical Novel About Following Dreams

I don't know what led me to Silhouette of a Sparrow, the only YA novel by children's fiction writer, Molly Beth Griffin. It is a book that I needed to read.  So whatever the source was, I'm grateful to have discovered it.

                        

I must have been drawn to this book by the cover which is quite extraordinary resembling some prehistorical image of a bird woman rooted in nature.  Then I must have read the description which identified it as taking place in the Roaring 1920's, a favorite period of mine which began exactly a hundred years ago.  The fact that Garnet Richardson, the 16 year old female protagonist, loves birds and wants to become an ornithologist made the novel seem unusual and intriguing.  This aspect of the book also was appealing to me as someone who is concerned about the non-human species with which we share our planet.

It belongs on this blog because there are strong women who assist Garnet in recognizing that she has the right to claim a future for herself.

The most significant of these women is 18 year old Isabella, the courageous dance hall performer labeled as a "harlot".  Isabella knew that she had to dance, and that if she had to break society's rules to do that, so be it.

Other women who helped to change the way Garnet thought about her life were Miss Maple, her summer employer, and her unconventional Aunt Rachel who never actually appears in the narrative.  Both of them served as examples that caused Garnet to realize that a woman could choose not to marry.

This is also a lesbian romance, but not one with a traditional HEA ending. I felt that the relationship between Garnet and Isabella had emotional intensity despite its brevity.  Would they ever come back together?  It's a possibility.  The future of these fictional characters is unknown unless Molly Beth Griffin chooses to revisit their lives in another book. Without that sequel, Garnet and Isabella remain frozen for us at the point where the author left them behind in the summer of 1926.

The advantage of never advancing this narrative beyond 1926 is that Garnet can retain the optimism for which the Roaring Twenties are known in order to inspire other readers of Silhouette of a Sparrow as I have been. 

A Pirate's Heart by Catherine Friend

...she stopped before a group of ogling men and gazed at each one, letting her eyes rest overlong at each crotch, after which she smiled sadly. She found this worked well to disarm lewd sailors.

This story is so much fun! It has a butt-whooping woman pirate, romance that has plenty of time to blossom--nothing rushed here, bits of humor in the dialogue and narrative, a modern-day hunt for a map and its treasure, thugs, and even a very lovable poodle. Poodle-doodle-noodle! LOL And the narrative is so refreshing, so honest and real. By narrative I mean the modern-day heroine's. This is one of those double-time period stories.

Obviously, the historical tale follows a lady pirate, a woman men fear at the very sight of her billowing black hair, a woman who after she takes a ship's loot, she chooses a man to bed her and then discards him because bedding men on board her own ship causes problems. She's also a woman who is tired of killing but knows no other way to make a living and she's the kind of woman who will free chained-up slaves or rescue them from the sea and kill a man for raping another woman. Did I mention she's also chasing down some Spanish treasure? And so is another pirate...who's none too fond of her. If the turbulent sea doesn't claim her...well, 'nuff said.

The historical story unfolds as the modern heroine, an "anal" librarian (Emma), and her reluctant partner, a sexy lady PI (Randi), chase after the pirate's map hundreds of years later, all the while thugs and thieves on their tails.

Unlike most stories that try to add suspense and bad guys to the tale, this story didn't come across as ridiculous...well...not until the end, anyway. It lost a point in my eyes with this the whole island-that-only-people-in-love-can-see thing.

I was kept in marvelous suspense too, all the time wondering what really happened to Tommy. Even the contemporary story line surprised me. The historical parts were my favorite, but as I said above, the contemporary narrator, her voice and wit, kept me intrigued in the modern tale too.

So why three bikes? What didn't I like? As you can see I really enjoyed this tale for the most part, but I must confess I hated the ending. I hated Randi. I didn't quite take to her. I think part of this is because the modern parts were in first-person POV--Emma's--and while Randi was aloof and distant with her, the POV style chosen to write the modern scenes meant that Randi was also aloof and distant with me, the reader, as well. But honestly, Randi is an asshole regardless and while I thought one crime could be forgiven, permitting someone to believe their dog is dead...for an entire day...hell no. HELL NO. Unforgivable. It was at this point the story could not redeem itself. Didn't matter that it was only a chapter or two left, it was ruined for me. Randi went too far and had done too many assholey things. I didn't want Emma with her and that doesn't make a very good romance, does it?

I acquired this on Paperback Swap.

Strong is Sexy Heroine of the Week: Skylar Roth

Book: Karaoke Queen
Author: Erik Schubach
Heroine: Skylar Roth

Most of my books feature strong women. It just takes them a while to realize just how strong they truly are and to see it in themselves. This is especially true in Karaoke Queen, where Skylar Roth finally steps out of the shadows. She lost a foot and suffered burns on half her body as the result of a violent attack when she was a teenager. She hid herself away after that and entertained constant thoughts of suicide and suffered from night terrors. She meets someone who shows her how beautiful she really is, inside and out. She was able to turn away from the darkness she hid in and proudly show herself to the world. I am always of the opinion that someone's perceived weakness is usually their greatest strength... they just need to see it.

She is strong in so very many ways, from supporting her daughter and mother and putting them before herself, to defending others even though she is terrified to do so. Then finally in realizing that she doesn't need to hide and walking out in the world, proud of who she is.

She is sexy in the way she views the world and her attitudes toward the people around her. Her music and the way she pours every drop of emotion into it is sexy too.

Blurb:
Skylar was horribly scarred by a fire in a violent crime, thoughts of suicide plagued her until she found music. It was her savior. She came forward from the shadows to express her pain through song. Karaoke bars were her salvation. Now in an international competition, she finds herself continually vexed by her rival, Kim, who never shows her any quarter. A strange relationship of respect grows between them, but could it be something more? Something beautiful? This is the fourth book in the "Music of the Soul" series, all books are stand alone novels.

Excerpt:
I walked to the center of the stage and stood up tall. My eyes were locked on Kim up in our seats, channeling her strength. “Ummm... hi everybody.” This got cheers for some reason and caused my anxiety to peak. “Most of you don't know who I am, and these past few years, that's how I liked it. I felt like a freak, an outcast. I hid in the shadows.”

I paused as the crowd settled a bit, I pointed at the object of my affection.“But Kimi Solomon, the woman I love, showed me what true strength and beauty is.” This got off the charts cheering as I continued, “She saw something in me that I couldn't... until now. She's my hero in every sense of the word and my heart goes out to her.”

I paused and took a deep breath then said loudly, “I'm sick of hiding. I'm not hiding anymore!” I pulled my hair back and pulled the band I had on my wrist over it to fasten it into a loose ponytail and dropped my overcoat then took a step forward with my right side forward.

I was wearing a tight white mini dress with an open right side that was held together by white satin straps laced along it. I proudly displayed the henna tattoos Kim had drawn, tracing the full length of my burns. From the butterflies on my cheek blending into the flowers going down my neck which in turn blended into the feathers down my arm and the leaves down my side, ending with the flowering vines around my leg. She had even covered the receiving socket on my prosthetic foot, which itself proudly displayed the angel wings Tim had made.

I took one more step forward and yelled into the mic, “Hello, everyone. I'm SKYLAR ROTH and it's bloody fine to meet you!” I was almost deafened at the roar of the crowd as I saw myself on every screen surrounding the stage. I was seeing myself through Kim's eyes on them... I felt... sexy.

Are you an author with a strong heroine in your book? Want to see her featured? Find out how here.

Ten Questions from Tara: An Interview with Erik Schubach. Bullying, Dating, & Strong Women

I love meeting new authors. I especially love meeting authors whom I have something in common with. Every now and then I'll spot a book that grabs my attention...I'll email the author of the book. Sometimes I'm ignored. Sometimes the author replies, promises to get with  me again at such and such a time or send a post, and I never hear from them again. But sometimes, they turn out to be some real nice, down-to-earth, awesome people, and this leads to some great correspondence and new friendships. And this how I came to meet Erik. Please give Erik a warm welcome. He has some really important things to say from bullying to discrimination to one of his coolest-ever dates.

Tara: You came to my attention because you have a deaf heroine in your book, Music of the Soul. Tell me about the research you did on this, the things you learned from hard of hearing/deaf people.

Erik: Most of my experience was back in the mid to late 1980's. Being the curious person I am, back then I had asked my deaf friends how they experienced music. Also about and how they overcame bullying, which I witnessed frequently and was grouped into since I was bullied all through my young adult life. We all sort of stood up for each other. I think Amber, one of my hearing impaired friends, handled it better than I did. I seriously believe that young people can be much meaner than adults.

We had gone to movies at times and I was curious how much of the dialog she was able to pick up on by reading lips. She let me know that what she didn't get, she picked up on by the progression of the scenes.

I thank God that the hearing impaired people I had dealings with could read lips (Though there were some misunderstandings.) because I sucked at learning sign language, I tried and tried... I felt like a complete idiot since my other friends were learning it at a quick pace. Amber once said that teaching me was like like trying to teach a one-eyed raccoon how to sign.

I did try the sensory deprivation technique I describe in the book to experience some music and a sub-titled VHS movie at her house to try to gain some perspective after high school at Amber's house. It is a real eye-opener.

Tara: What do you feel hearing people could learn from your book?

Erik: That what they deem as different or as a handicap is really only a matter of perspective. Differences are what make us all amazing individuals and give us character. Nobody should be treated any differently or ostracized because they don't “hear” the world in the same way.

Tara: *nods head* Amen, Erick. Thanks for pointing that out. You bring up bullying. I understand what being on the receiving end of that is very well. I notice you also tackle the subject in book two. What message do you hope to get across to people by putting this topic in your novels?

Erik: Bullying is one of the worst things a person can subject another individual to. In many cases that bullying can damage someone almost beyond repair. More suicides are being attributed to bullying almost every day. People need to take a stand against it, and realize that “ignoring” bullying when they witness it is the same thing as saying that it is OK. It is very rare for a person to not be affected their entire lives by it, even if they don't show it externally.

I myself was bullied relentlessly in high school and beyond because I was a small gangly nerd (the term geek wasn't used widely back then yet). Always getting pressured into doing other people's homework just to be made fun of by those same people.

I think I turned out relatively OK, but to this day I hold a deep seated grudge against anyone I see bullying anyone and am the first to step in to diffuse it. I remember the names of each and every person that ever bullied me, even though I can't remember most of my other classmates from the time. That's my damage.

So I try to mention the subject in each and every book I write. I believe people need to be more educated about bullying, bigotry and discrimination.

Tara: A DEAFENING Whisper. I love that title. Does that feature a hard of hearing person too? If not, what significance does that choice of words have? 

Erik: It pertains to a poem one of my characters writes. A Deafening Whisper is something whispered between two people that is so profound that it alters their lives forever. Whether it is for the good or the bad. So regardless of how quietly it is whispered, the consequences boom louder than thunder. Like telling someone you love them for the first time.

None of the characters are deaf in that book, though one main character suffers from OCD and Tourette Syndrome and the other has a sickness she has not revealed to anyone. I like to write about strong characters that use their supposed weaknesses as their greatest strengths.

Tara:  That is truly beautiful. I like that. All your books are lesbian fiction, which is awesome, but as a man, how did you end writing that? Did someone suggest you write one? Did the characters just pop in your head and refuse to quit nagging you until you put them on the page?

Erik: Well, there are a few reasons. My nieces are both lesbian and I think it is awesome how strong they are. One has even asked me to base a character on her struggles in an upcoming book. Also, I have always enjoyed strong female characters in media. In the past, I don't think that they have had their fair share in the spotlight (though recently that has been turning around).

The ideas just come to me and I have to write them down. The first book, Music of the Soul, was written in one weekend because the idea popped into my head and I just had to write the story down. My style and grammar my not be the most professional (It sucks) but, it is the story I want to share.

I do want to point out that none of my books contain erotic material. A lot of people seem to jump to that conclusion. But I leave those moments to people's imaginations. I may lead up to it but never delve into details. My stories are about the love and romance two people share, not the sex.

Tara: I commend you for that. Sex is all over the place nowadays. It's nice to meet an author just giving a solid story. Do you think you’ll ever write m/m or m/f?

Erik: I'm open to writing about anything. It doesn't matter which two individuals fall in love... it is the love that matters, and romance is romance. The only reason my first four books are F/F is because they are in the same story arc world. Other romance books in different settings may be a different dynamic.

I am currently finishing the manuscript for the fifth book in the Music of the Soul arc and will be turning to science fiction for a book or two. There are two ideas just screaming at me to write down.

Tara: Your Amazon bio says you have always been drawn to strong female characters in books. That totally rocks. Can you tell me some of your favorite book heroines?

Erik: I could seriously go on forever with this list :) but the top three main ones are as follows...

Honor Harrington from the Honorverse books by David Weber (my personal favorite). Not only is she a kick butt admiral in the royal space navy, but she also has a husband AND a wife later on in the series. She is known by the enemy as the Salamander, she always shows up where impossible battles rage the hottest, and somehow always walks away victorious.

Killashandra Ree from the Crystal Singer books by Anne McCaffrey. She gave up her life to mine crystals and be with the man she loved even though she knew that same crystal mining would eventually strip her of her memory and curse her to an extraordinarily long life without those memories.

Magiere from the Nobel Dead books by Barb and J.C. Hendee. Not quite vampire and not quite human, she travels the continent hunting the vampires and other creatures that prey on the weak. She has to fight not just the undead, but her own rising blood-lust.

Tara: An Amazon reviewer recently reviewed book three of your series, The Dating Game. She says, “Enticing book with excellent dating tips ;)”. Okay. Now I must know more. Give us a dating tip, please.

Erik: Since my two previous books were so deeply emotional I attempted to lighten up the mood on this third book, Dating Game, before dipping back into the heavily emotional fourth book. To mixed reviews... apparently you either love the book or hate the book.

The dates are fun though. I would say that nothing beats a picnic if you share it in a location that means something personal in your life. Share that information and your impressions then and now. Nothing is more intimate than letting someone into your life like that. Communication is sexy.

Tara: Tell us about a date of your own. Did it make it in the book? Was it horrible, funny, boring?

Erik: I have lived in the Pacific Northwest most of my life. At one point I had asked a girl in Spokane, WA out for some “adventure”. I had brought her to a bridge where an Anubis hieroglyph graffiti was tagged with a triangle. We drove the direction of the point of the triangle. The next bridge had the same graffiti.

This continued through some scenic views of the city, I made sure to give her time to look at the city and mountains from these unique vantage points before moving on to the next. Soon we wound up at a plaque overlooking a portion of the Spokane River that described a whirlpool that used to exist at that point caused by the meeting of two forks of the river.

There just happened to be a picnic lunch set up there (what a coincidence). I shared with her the first time I had discovered that “secret” Anubis breadcrumb trail years ago and how I had never shared it with anyone. After letting me know I was a goofball, she admitted that she hadn't had that much fun in a long time.

Digger

Tara: Thank you for sharing that. Really. That's cool. This is always the tenth question...As a dog mom, I must know. Do you have pets? If so, what are they and their names?

Baby

Erik: I happen to share my home with three dogs. Tucker Magoo, who is the coolest, big black Flat Coat Retriever mix... ever... period. Digger Doo, who is a Basset Hound, Labrador Retriever mix (imagine a black lab cut off at the knees). Then there is Baby, a Papillon who thinks she owns the world.

Tucker

Then there's the seven cats, three finches, two hamsters, three mini-goats and thirteen chickens. Help, I think I live in a zoo!

Tara: I want to thank Erik for taking the time to come on here. Erik, it's been a pleasure. I wish you all the best in your writing career and I hope to maintain our email correspondence. Those of you wanting to connect further with Erik, check out his blog and like him on his FB page. 

The Storm by Shelley Thrasher

I'm rather torn with my feelings on this one. I LOVE the uniqueness of it. A lesbian romance during WWI, here at home in Texas between a strong woman and a weak woman who wishes she were strong. It's almost a coming of age tale but older women rebelling against the confines and rules of society.


Jaq is a former ambulance driver who walks around with guilt weighing heavily on her. She feels responsible for a few deaths. Her grandmother, a man named Henry, and later in the book, others. I can't reveal beyond that without giving important stuff away. This was an interesting and very sad twist.

She wants the lovely farm wife, Molly, but Molly is married with a child. Jaq's own marriage is a sham on the verge of annulment. There's no way Molly can walk away from her son Patrick, even if she were to get the gumption to actually do something against her darned mother in law's wishes. See, her MIL runs the show. At first, I could figure out why the MIL had so many parts. She was irritating and mean and evil. I kept asking, "Why is she a main figure in this story?" When I got the author's notes, I understood. Despite my dislike of her and her opinions, she was a strong woman in her own right.

To avoid going on and on, there's a war going on, past issues being battle, a young woman feeling things she doesn't think she should be feeling, a meddlesome MIL, an alcoholic wanting to go back and fight, but recovering from wounds. Lots of things going on here.

Liked: That Molly finally sees the light, sorta. I don't think she would have if fate hadn't intervened, but at least she registers to vote. Liked Jaq, her dressing as a man, her working on cars, her attitude overall. Her side story about the storm and the war and the nun.

Disliked: The POV shifts a lot, too much. I had to read over passages at times as it was she, she, she, but I couldn't figure out WHICH she it was. Lots of long monologues of people talking to themselves or animals. Lots of stories from the past TOLD instead of shown. The MIL...lots of her parts were unnecessary. Molly was just irritating in her weakness. It was constantly, "If my MIL and hubby agree....If they let me do this." As I said, even in the end, I doubt she wouldn't had the backbone had fate not intervened. Also, bit long-winded at times, the narrative.

Three bikes. Had some issues, but I would read more from Bold Strokes and this author.

Favorite line: "Strong women are simply that--strong--whether they wear a skirt or pants. They're merely being themselves, not trying to be like men. And if they happen to love other women, that's their right."

I received this thru netgalley.

Strong is Sexy Heroine of the Week: Sarah Niles, Danny Cooper

Book: Loving the Pink Kiss, Pink Crush

Author: Shiralyn J. Lee

Heroine: Sarah  Niles, Danny Cooper

In the sense that any of my leading ladies come across as experiencing a roller coaster ride of emotional heartbreak, depressing thoughts, or pure anger over a spiteful vixen, I implore you to think twice before assuming that they are weak in nature. These ladies are mainly based on my own actual life experience or someone who I consider to be a close friend.

Sarah Niles, my lead character from Loving the Pink Kiss is a true reflection of myself. She led the life of a party girl, shagging guys for the sake of getting some action after a brill drinking session. But her life as a straight girl was quickly dissolved as she meets a Canadian woman Robbie. Within days she senses that something is different about the way she is acting. Throughout the story she is introduced to falling in love with the right person (Robbie) but her insistence to find out about past girlfriends causes her to lose what she had just found. It takes for her to be at her lowest point in life, to be treated as nothing more than a sex toy and then tossed away like trash. When she is at her lowest point she discovers that she is worth something. Her need to belong is like a hunger and her fight returns. She finds her strength as she overcomes the bad obstacles that were thrown her way. These obstacles I myself have had to overcome. Based on my life where I had lived in a 20 year marriage knowing that it wasn't right I allowed things to happen that would never happen to me now.

Danny Cooper from Pink Crush is another fine example. Again I choose to use the finding love and losing it scenario but that's just the surface story. Beneath this, Danny's mind is in turmoil. Using the emotions that I felt when my family turned their backs on me for being a lesbian I induced them into Danny's character as I know that so many lesbians and gays have lived through these traumatic experiences.

With these two stories alone my heroines have started out as raw characters thinking that they are strong but that is their undoing as this shows only on the outside. Once they find themselves being manipulated by an emotion they hadn't yet experienced...LOVE...they find that this alone can send their world crashing down in an instance.

As with the stories, Love for Lidia and The Submissive Scullery Maid I gave these characters strength from the beggining. These stories were set in the Victorian era so rather than making them out be to weak, because I feel that the Victorians had a different way of thinking than we do today, I put in place an already existing power. These stories were written in the sense of where I'm at in life today. No longer am I an emotional wreck crying over what I once had. I am in love and extremely happily married so these emotions come across in the scenes written out.

As for my BDSM stories, I use my fantasies as a base for the characters. The strength isn't with the Dom as most people who don't understand this type of world are led to believe. The strength is with the Sub. She will set the ground rules, tell the Dom how far she can go and what she definitely wouldn't do. There are two different strengths going on here. The Dom who holds the power as the viewer looks in and the Sub who creates the power before anything is performed. Going back to my first marriage I was controlled by the other person who was a dictator. It was a mental control, conditioning I would say. But now I have the control. I choose what I want rather than be told what to have. So now that I have self control I can use both sides of the emotional roller coaster and give equal strength to the ladies in these stories.

But every story that I have written has a major piece of my soul. I have lived, laughed, loved, hated and loved again. This is where my ladies find their strength. From within.

Are you an author with a strong heroine in your book? Want to see her featured? Find out how here.

Debonair Dyke by Roxy Harte

This was a very eye-opening book for someone who has never read about transgender issues before. It introduced me to a new world as far as the difficulties a person of transgender gender faces on a daily basis: how people perceive them, judge them, treat them, the rude questions. I mean, on some level, I know life isn't peachy for them, but just how far it is taken wasn't clear to me.

Danni left small town Kansas to get away from the hate and rules that were holding her back from being her. She lives the high-life in NYC, taking a new woman or women to bed every night by night and doing the college/speech/educating thing by day. Her goal in life seems to be 1. getting laid and 2. educating the rest of the world about transgender studies, etc.

But then she's called back to Kansas for her ill father, and it all comes crashing down, or does it? Maybe she was called there for a reason.

Enter gossip, hate crimes, discrimination, love, and self doubt. Run the garage? Date Jessica? Make a stand? Stay in po-dunk, hateful Kansas where she doesn't feel she can be herself or go back to NYC where she can? But can she leave some things behind? After all, one has to go back and face the trouble to heal from it, right?

"I've studied, I've theorized, I've lectured, I've educated. I'm seeing it now. Just now. That was all practice runs. This is the real deal. This is the part of the world that I need to be talking to, educating, changing."

She stays and she makes a difference, but like anything that really makes an impact, it's not easy. A shocking secret is revealed in the end, a misunderstanding is corrected, and though it has a happy ending, it's clear the path isn't paved in gold for Danni or Jessica.

The story really resonated with me for many reasons and it was incredibly well-written. I do have one quibble though. Two. 1. I didn't really get the strap on. I've never read a book in which a woman wore a strap on and will be the first to admit I'm ignorant and a poor judge, but what really confused me was Jessica. She couldn't be with Danni at first because of the strap on ("I don't like boys.") so her suddenly begging for it the second time around was strange and unexplained. I felt there was something psychological there I was missing. My second quibble: I felt all the women constantly throwing themselves at Danni was odd and slightly preposterous. It was instant. Immediate. I mean, just saunter into the garage, tear your pants off, and beg her to you know...immediate. *arches brow*

Four bikes.

I'm in PRINT!

I've been writing ebooks for over a year now, and many people, family included, have said to me, "I'm just not ready for an ereader," "Is this going to be in print?," "I don't want to read on the computer."

I listened, and I understood, and now I'm pleased to announce a print book is available with five different Tara titles in it.

The blurb speaks for itself. The book can be bought on Amazon and Create Space.

To all my followers, friends, family, and fans that have encouraged me to do this: Thank you. 


In Strong is Sexy, it’s exactly that. Strong is sexy. No simpering damsels here, not in the end anyway. Travel back to 1820s Los Angeles and swordfight with Catalina and her dashing Ricardo. Ricardo believes his wife is having an affair with a masked crusader. What will he do when he finds out his wife is the Maiden Behind the Mask? The right to vote for women was not easily won. Elizabeth and Margaret fight for that right in Votes for Vixens. There’s a riot not only on the streets of New York City, 1919, but in their hearts as well. U.S.A.F. fighter pilot, Captain Janet Kerrigan, is in for a huge surprise when she takes to the Iraqi skies on Christmas day. Can she save Christmas? Or will Operation: Enduring Santa cost her her career? Author, Tara Chevrestt shares her own story of strength. Hear Through My Ears is a tale straight from the heart that takes you on a journey of hearing impairment and the struggles that go with having a disability. If she overcame them, you can too. And last, but not least, a bonus story is included, a story inspired by three humorous little dogs—all female. And though, one could argue and say, “Dogs aren’t sexy,” the author’s Pekingese begs to differ. Join Lola, Pudgy, and Jazzy in three humorous canine capers, Dog Tails.

Honor Among Thieves by Amy Gaertner

A f/f romance, short story I picked up upon finding the publisher's site. Very attractive cover art, intriguing story line. A woman thief is undercover, working for a shady art collector, while planning to rob him one night and return the artifacts to the country they belong to. Meanwhile, a sexy reporter catches her eye, and she breaks all the rules to bed her, only to have everything go to hell...or does it?

One thing I'm really liking about the f/f romances I have been picking up is the fact there's a rarely a man swooping in to the save the day, but another woman! LOVE that.

It was well written with just the right amount of a suspense, keep me guessing moments. The sex was hot, though I could have done without the m/f part. Wasn't expecting it and was somewhat surprised.

All in all, it's a great treadmill book or before bed read. I enjoy picking up stories that tell you just what you need to know and don't natter on and on about irrelevant stuff. Four bikes.

I bought this on Amazon Kindle.